Denny’s Interview Questions & Tips

Types of Interviews To Expect

The Denny’s interview process varies from location to location. Some restaurants call prospective employees to conduct a phone interview upon receiving applicant information. Other locations call applicants to schedule a face-to-face job interview within a couple of days. Most job candidates typically receive a call back within a couple of weeks; however, many locations save applicant information on file for months at a time and may contact potential associates several weeks after receiving the initial request for employment.

How to Get a Job at Denny's

Applicants generally participate in multiple rounds of interviews during the hiring process. Both managerial candidates and entry-level job seekers regularly find two or three interviews as part of the formal proceedings. Denny's job interviews follow one-on-one formats and last around 15 minutes. The brief hiring sessions do not allow candidates much time to reveal personality traits, so applicants should arrive early or on time and prepared for each interview. Most job interviews take place in backroom areas of the restaurant of choice. The conditions sometimes include loud and distracting circumstances. Applicants should exercise poise to demonstrate ability to work in the often hectic job settings typical of restaurants.

Questions Asked

A hiring manager or shift manager typically asks applicants a series of questions regarding transportation to and from work, availability, related job experience, skill sets, and the desired job title. Specific Denny's interview questions may include: “Why do you want to work for Denny’s?” and “What can you bring to the company?” Interviewers might also ask workers to describe past stressful situations at work and how applicants handled the circumstances. As an extremely popular nationwide chain, applicants in the Southwest may field interview questions about multilingual abilities. Most hopefuls face very basic interview questions, overall, with about a handful or so asked of prospective employees during each hiring session.

Relax and Draw on Prior Experiences

When attending a job interview, applicants should dress in business-casual or business-professional attire. Employers typically look favorably upon workers who take initiative to look presentable for job interviews. Job-related experience might also sway hiring staff. Highlight any prior fast food or customer service experience when responding to basic interview questions. The restaurant chain typically hires laid-back team players who enjoy fun and fast-paced work environments. Relax during each interview and genuinely express a desire to work for Denny’s. As a 24-hour restaurant chain, the company favors applicants expressing open availability or no real opposition to working nights and weekends also plays a role in gaining employment consideration. If hired, applicants must usually submit to a drug test within a predetermined timeframe.

What to Wear

Individuals seeking employment with Denny’s should wear professional attire and keep a clean appearance for their interview. Maintaining a good appearance helps candidates stand out to hiring managers. Clean shoes, along with business casual dress work well for a Denny’s job interview.

Denny’s Hostess Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Denny’s Hostess: So I was a hostess but because we were usually busy I had to do other people’s jobs too, so I would help out the waitresses, and the dishwasher, and stuff when they needed it, but my main contract duty was to basically seat people.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Denny’s Hostess: It was usually really friendly. I really actually like my co-workers a lot. It was easy going. It could be hectic around certain hours, like lunch hour particularly, because it would be packed, and there was a lot of running around and frustrated people.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Denny’s Hostess: My favorite part about working there was interacting with a lot of people just because I am a people person, but I do understand that might not be everyone’s thing.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.
Denny’s Hostess: So, the application and interview process was pretty straightforward. You walked in and you filled out an application. You just ask for one. It was pretty quick. It was like one or two pages, and asked like minor things, like your name, your social security. There was like how much you wanted to be paid, or when could you work. Other than that, there wasn’t much to the application. The interview was really quick. It was like two minutes. It was basically what was your work experience, why do you want to work here. That was about it.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Denny’s Hostess: I got notified that I got the job right after we finished the interview.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Denny’s Hostess: I think it was because I had some work experience, and it was also a newly built company, and building, so they pretty much wanted anyone, so they were trying to fill up as many jobs as they could before things got way too hectic, because to keep it operating you needed people to work there.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Denny’s Hostess: I would just say be friendly and have a smile on your face. That’s pretty much the key.

Denny’s Host Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Denny’s Employee: I started off as a host. Basically, I was just standing up front and waiting for customers to come in. When they came in, they would give me their name, I would write their names down until a table was ready, and oftentimes I was just the greeter. I’d be there just to welcome them to the establishment until their table was ready, and I would take them to their seats.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Denny’s Employee: A typical day would be me going in, meeting with my manager, going over, for example, how busy the day is, what to expect, if there’s any special events coming in, and then from there, I would just stand at the front, sit there, waiting for customers to come in. After someone came in, I would greet them, welcome them, and ultimately just take them over to their seats pretty much until the end of the day. At the end of the day, I would meet with my manager once more and just go over what happened that day, if I had any problems, if there was anything he thought I needed to improve on, and from there I would just go home.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Denny’s Employee: Originally, it said there was an online application, but I never heard back from them when I submitted my application online, so I ended up just printing it out, going to the venue itself, and handing it over to the manager. I thought that was a pretty good way to also get to meet the manager, so he knows who’s applying. As for the interview process, there was an interview that was about an hour and 20 minutes, just asking basic information, past experiences that I’ve had in the work field, and I heard back after a couple days.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Denny’s Employee: One thing was about my time commitment. They knew I was a student; they wanted to make sure that I did have enough time to be a part-time worker at Denny’s. Besides that they wanted to know… they also wanted to know about my past work experience, which I didn’t really have any. It was my first job actually besides working for my father. Other than that, a lot of it was just personal questions in terms of getting to know me better, asking about my schedule, what I like to do for fun. I think the manager really wants to see how I would benefit their work environment, I guess, and see if I fit in with all the other employees, but pretty much nothing too hard.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Denny’s Employee: For one, I think you always have to start off as a host for the most part, either a host or a bus boy. You’re not going to jump into being a waiter or a manager or anything like that anytime soon. You do have to start from the bottom and gradually work yourself, work your way up until you’re able to get the position you want. That’s one warning. I guess I kind of thought I was going to go in and start working as a waiter, but that didn’t end up happening. Everyone always has to start off doing something a little bit under. Another thing as far as the interview, I think the main thing is just to remain calm, answer all the questions. There are no trick questions at all. They’re really just trying to get to know you better and see how you fit in with their work field. That’s pretty much it.

Related Links:
Denny's Application
Denny's Server
Denny's En Espanol